The Wood
Two figures stand alone in the darkness. Neither quite sure how they ended up in this place, how they found the other. Rustling, a pop, and a white-green flare exploding into the night. She lights the pipe and little sparks shower down to die among the dead leaves and pine needles. He watches as she sucks on the pipe, the orange glow turning her dark eyes into deep pools, turning her dark hair purple. �I�m Maja�, she says, handing him the pipe, absently stroking it.
He takes the pipe from her, noticing the hesitation as she hands it to him. The glow is golden on his face. It turned his pale hair fiery, slowly spreading over his pale blue eyes. He held his breath for a long while, enjoying this new sensation. He sighs, leaning back against a tree, coughing a little. �Davin�, he says, lifting the pipe to his mouth again. He takes another pull, not noticing the spark�s long dead. Suddenly there�s that white-green flame again and he fights to hold in the smoke that has filled his lungs. He manages a weak thanks after the coughing subsides.
Maja takes the pipe back from him tenderly, glad to have its familiar weight in her palm. �So, what are you doing out here?�, Davin asks as she takes the final pull from the bowl. �My guess is�, she says in a gravelly voice as she exhales, �the same thing as you. Whatever that might have been.� He watches in wonder as she cleans out the pipe, noticing again how tender she is with it. �It was a gift�, she says. �Or something like one. Reminds me of someone.� �I�m sorry� he says, hearing the pain in her voice as she answers his question. �Don�t be.� she tells him. �You didn�t ask.�
She pulls a pack of Camels from another of her many pockets, lights two. �I don�t smoke.� he says as he takes the cigarette she�s offered. �I know.� is all she says. �I�m sorry� again falls from his lips, thinking he�s said something stupid. She sits down beside him, leans against him and the tree. Again from her, �Don�t be.�
They sit in silence for a long while, listening to the sounds of the forest, the sound of each other breathing. Long after their cigarettes are gone he begins to talk, suddenly needing to hear the sound of something familiar. She liked the quiet, likes the sound of his voice more. He speaks of many things, his thoughts making sense in his head, but not coming out of his mouth in the same order. She listens to his thoughts instead, merely enjoying the sound of his voice.
After a while he realizes he�s been babbling. Embarrassed by the things he�s spoken of he begins to apologize again, but she cuts him off. �Stop being sorry� she says, �there�s no need.� She pulls another cigarette from the pack, offers him another as well, but he shakes his head no. �Do you always smoke this much?�, he asks quietly. She merely sat for a minute, then replied, �What can I say, Davin? I like smoke better than air...�
�What are you thinking about?� he asks after awhile. �Things I�ve done. Things I wish I�d done. Just...things.� she says. �But mostly wondering where we are, and just how the hell we got here.� Maja stood up, absently wiping ash from her jeans. �Come on.�, she said. �Lets see if we can find a road or something. Get out of here.�
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�I get the very distinct feeling we�re not getting anywhere here, Davin.� Maja walked over to a tree, bending to pick something up. �Well fuck.� With an exasperated sigh she flopped down against a tree. Walking over to sit by her Davin notices the cigarette butts. �We just...walked in a big circle.� Davin said. �Notice that too, did you?�, Maja snapped. �I�m so��, Davin started. �Stop fucking being sorry all the time! Jesus. Whatever this is, it�s not your fault. So stop acting like it is!�, Maja screamed. Davin could do nothing for a moment but stare, and then he snapped. �Look�, he yelled, �I don�t know where the fuck I am. I don�t know how I got here. And I sure as shit don�t know why I�m here with YOU! So if you have any ideas, lets go, but if not, why don�t you just shut the hell up and...� She let him yell. It was something he need to do. Lighting another cigarette, she tilted her head and looked up at him. �Give me that�, he said, snatching the cigarette from her hand. Maja smirked. �I thought you didn�t smoke.� �I don�t�, he said, taking a drag and handing it back. Maja just smiled and shook her head.
They sat in silence for awhile, her smoking, him sulking. �Feel better?�, she asked. �Actually....yes,� he said. �Thank you, for letting me do that. I�m just so...tired. Of it all. You know?� �I know.�, she said. Davin said, �Maybe we should try to get some sleep, who knows how long we�re going to be out here.� �You go ahead Davin, I don�t sleep anymore.�, Maja said wearily. He lie down, the almost dried pine needles and leaves making a surprisingly comfortable bed. She lit another cigarette, momentarily blinded by the green-white flame. She held the smoke in for a moment, savoring it, exhaled slowly, watching the smoke drift up and into the trees.
She hadn�t been afraid to find herself in this place. Alone, then with him. He however, had been. Strangely though, it was she he was afraid of, and not the wood. She hadn�t tried to talk about it with him, sensing rightly that the time for such things had not yet come. She was startled, lost in her own little world of thought, when he spoke out to her. He wanted her to come lie beside him, just wanted to feel the heat from another body close to him. �What harm could there be� she thought, and moved to lie beside him, tossing her long gone cigarette b This place was amazing. Though she heard animals, sounds, she saw nothing, and not for the lack of looking. She hadn�t been disappointed to find that her phone didn�t work here, wanting to stay as long as she possibly could. Faintly, he began to snore and she knew he was asleep. But she was too lost in thought to notice much of anything. She let her mind wander, as she so often did during the hours most people slept. Nothing, anything, everything. And then there were thoughts that were not her own. Images and memories that had nothing to do with her. Had feelings that were not her own, and yet strangely were. Saw things that frightened and excited her. She knew these things were his. Suddenly there were arms around her and another body pressed close to hers, and his images fled from her head. She should have been afraid, after all the things she had just seen, but somehow she knew that he would never hurt her in any way she didn�t want...or need. There was no chill in the night air, but with his arms around her she felt as if she were wrapped in a blanket. And in the safety of his embrace she slept for the first time in weeks.